Best wood for a Rolling Pin?

[Luxyboy]

Hi All,

Just wondering what would be good for use as a rolling pin?
Something that won't crack easily, no notches for food to be caught in, won't dent to easily and some nice colouring to it.

I want it basically just to be a solid straight bodied cylinder with the ends rounded off.
About 500mm long x 80mm Diameter (let me know if this size seems to big or small)

Cheers,
Brad

[benji79]

I made one a few months ago out of a bit of Huon Pine offcut. Just oiled it lightly with some canola oil. Looks great and works fine. About the same dimentions as you want as well, just a bit shorter (350mm), 500mm would be getting to big for my kitchen.

I just roll dough with it so i wasnt to woried about the hardness and being Huon Pine, it will prob outlast me..

Benji

[RETIRED]

I have always made them from Radiata.

[hughie]

Balsa, so it wont hurt if SWMBO comes at you. :U

[joeyjons]

I'm in trouble then Hughie, I made mine out of olive!

[Tim the Timber Turner]

I have always made them from Radiata.

Not true

What about the one you made from that Irish timber for the camp cook at Wellington last August!!!!:U.

She reckons you are the best, so look out this year.

Cheers

Tim:)

[mick61]

g`day I made one out of cherry,it`s been going well for a couple of years,didn`t make it too long or solid for the same reason Hughie suggested.:cool:
Mick:D

[texx]

i made a extra large one from qld red cedar about 20 odd years ago for rolling pizza doe we still use it every day and have done for the 20 odd years we have had it ( we own a take away shop )the wife is using it as i type this as a matter of fact .
turned it from a chunk of 5x5 no axle in it just a single piece job with flour on the handle all the time you dont need to have an axle for it to turn on .
no need to wash it although we could ,we just give it a rub with a floured hand .

[RETIRED]

Not true

What about the one you made from that Irish timber for the camp cook at Wellington last August!!!!:U.

She reckons you are the best, so look out this year.

Cheers

Tim:)Forgot about that one.:rolleyes:

Hmm, I have Brownie points then.:D

[texx]

red cedar 550mm long x 80mm dia
oh yeah and when it does have to be cleaned we just give it a rub with a dry stainless scourer .

[John T]

hi from john t in deloraine i made a rolling pin from wood from a english box hedge

[issatree]

Hi Brad,
My wood has mainly been Cotoneaster for Rolling Pins, & like , I also have done them in Pine.
Blackwood goes well also.
2 points;
Use Red Gum, & the Pastry or whatever could turn Pink.

2nd. Get that Canola off that Pin ASAP, as sooner or later you will wonder where the Smell is coming from, as Canola goes right off. ( Rancid )?

Baby Oil / Paraffin, Soy Bean Oil, Grapeseed Oil too, would be the best that I know of.
Regards,
issatree.
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[Allen Neighbors]

I make them like the one Joeyjons posted. Only 2" (50mm) thick... and about 350mm long. Dare I say it... shhhh.... it's the French style.... :eek:

[Christos]

Balsa, so it wont hurt if SWMBO comes at you. :U


Did not take long for that reply to come along. :U

[Ed Reiss]

Rubber tree might even be safer :D

[old pete]

Hi Luxyboy,

I've made many many hundreds of the dreaded things. I make two styles the standard English cylindrical pin with fancy handles. I use blackwood for the handles and Huon Pine for the barrels. They look great. I dimension the barrel the best I can get out of 75 x 75mm starting stock and the handles have a max dia. of 35mm.

Then I make the so called French Pin ie. a cylinder with tapered ends. I make them a standard 420mm overall with the barrel the best I can get out of 50mm over cut starting stock. That usually works out at about 47 mm or 48 mm finished. I use Huon Pine for these but I have used celery top when i have had it to hand.

I've also used plain sassafras for both types. It's a fantastic timber for the job but it doesn't retail well at all with the punters.

I don't think there is any need to oil or polish rolling pins. Finish to 400 grit and polish with abrasive cloth to get the residual dust out.

If you must oil then they say that Macadamia oil does not go rancid over time. I've used it frequently on circular cutting boards and sometimes these are on my shelves for up to 9 months till the season comes around again. They certainly haven't gone 'off' in that time frame.

I've got two chunks of cotoneaster about 700mm x 80 mm dia sitting in my workshop that someone gave me from their garden years ago that I've been waiting to find a use for.A very dense wood. I'll put them into pins and see how they come up. That species must be one of the most robust timbers on the planet. Although the pieces I have are limb wood there is no sign of end cracking on them whatever after years of drying.

Old Pete

[Paul39]

I'm in trouble then Hughie, I made mine out of olive!


; I make them like the one Joeyjons posted. Only 2" (50mm) thick... and about 350mm long. Dare I say it... shhhh.... it's the French style....:oo:

Lovely shape, didn't know it was the french style.

[Sebastiaan56]

Get that Canola off that Pin ASAP, as sooner or later you will wonder where the Smell is coming from, as Canola goes right off. ( Rancid )?

Strictly speaking its called "reversion" and Canola gets a fishy smell when it reverts. It takes forever to polymerise to a hard goo unlike other vegetable oils. It will revert first.

[Manuka Jock]

I use rice bran oil , and have no problems with it going rancid, on food items or any others .
Its' cheap too :U

[Luxyboy]

Thanks for the replies guys :U

Old Pete - I can't find any pictures of Cotoneaster wood only the plant; do you have any examples of it finished or does it go by any other name?

My favorites are:
1. Olive
2. Blackwood
3. Tassy Oak
4. Huon Pine

I love Tiger Myrtle but I don't think it comes in larger sizes :(
Untitled Web Page - 2008-06-10 at 04-01-53 (http://www.distinctivetimbers.com.au/galleries/tiger-gallery-1/large-5.html)

Does anyone have a peice of any of the above mentioned, large enough to make the size pin I want?
Anyone want to give me a quote on them making it and sending it to Brisbane?
If someone has the wood to sell but doesn't want to turn it, let me know and I'll ask the local turning group if they will turn it for me and I can just get the wood from you.
PM/Post/E-mail pictures and a quote for me if you can/want to make this or sell me some wood.

About to start a family so I can't get a lathe like I had planned to :C:D (happy to have kid, sad to not get my toys)

Thanks,
Brad

[Frank&Earnest]

As says, no need to go fancier than Radiata for that kind of pin. Only barbarians oil them. :D

But if you want it to make traditional hand made tagliatelle, you need it about 1200 long, only 40 thick and made preferably of walnut or similar hardwood.

If you insist on olive, I could probably make it for you to your specs.
Or in Cotoneaster to the specs above, but I would charge its weight in gold. :D

[Frank&Earnest]

I've got two chunks of cotoneaster about 700mm x 80 mm dia sitting in my workshop that someone gave me from their garden years ago that I've been waiting to find a use for.
Old Pete

Hi Pete. I plan to use the cotoneaster I have saved for small sculptures. If that is not your cup of tea and would like to swap it for olive or other stone fruit timber let me know.

[John T]

hi luxyboy i have made rolling pins from huon pine celery top pine blackwood tassy oak +very expensive tiger myrtle for a lady in sydney for $80 + freight special order dementions 600x75mm

[Sawdust Maker]

I've only ever made one for rolling out play doh :D so is about 200mm ish long

If you need to treat it with something ubeaut has a new food safe product for this type of work, unfortunately I cannot find it on his website

[Luxyboy]

John T - Can you get Tiger Myrtle the size I want with the lovely tiger striping like in this link:
Untitled Web Page - 2008-06-10 at 04-01-53 (http://www.distinctivetimbers.com.au/galleries/tiger-gallery-1/large-5.html)

Well the missus likes the Olive, Blackwood and Tiger Myrtle, so:

Frank&Earnest - How much for one made from Olive?
John T - How much for one made from Blackwood or Tiger Myrtle?

I would like to have the flat part of the cylinder 500mm long and the ends after that just rounded off like semicircles, please. So the total length would be 580mm including the rounded ends; I allowed half of the cylinder thickness for each end for symetrical semicircles. However I realise that it might not turn out exactly that being a handmade product :wink:

Really, thanks heaps for doing this guys :2tsup:

[Harry72]

Jarrah works good, I use paraffin oil for a finish.

[John T]

Frank&Earnest - How much for one made from Olive?
John T - How much for one made from Blackwood or Tiger Myrtle?

I rolling pin made from tigermyrtle timber alone would be about $75.00

blackwood about $50,00 del brisbane

[Frank&Earnest]

I sent a PM, but doubt that a pin like that in olive would be practical (over 2.5 kg). The small one in pine my wife uses weighs 230 g.

[robo hippy]

My choices over here are mostly sugar/hard maple and beech. The fruit woods work fine, but are a bit soft for my liking, but I don't use them. Oregon Myrtle (California Bay Laurel) is a nice wood as well. Mostly you want closed grain, so nothing like walnut.

As to the wife/girl friend/significant other using the rolling pin on the males, that is forbidden under the terms of 'abusing the wood' as she will only dent the rolling pin.

I make them as straight cylinders with and without handles (5 to 10 cm), tapered (both straight and arc) from the center out, straight center with about 1/4 of the length on both ends tapered, long and short (maple about 5cm diameter round and 20 to 30 long, called a palote (pa-lo-tay) for tortillas), some really short ones for dumplings (pot stickers), and any others that the cooks may want.

I finish with walnut oil. I don't know if you can get Mike Mahoney's oil over there or not, but it does cure, and isn't the same thing as the oil you get in the grocery stores.

Any excuse to play on the lathe.

robo hippy

[Rifleman1776]

I have used Bradford Pear and Maple. Both nice. Any hard, dense wood should be good. Although I would stay away from oil exotics that might possibly be toxic.